Well of Souls Forums

Well, a nuke is a "bit" different to tv/radio signals... It's a stronger pulse, but it's still omnidirectional rather than focused, and it's momentary, so you don't benefit from longer observation times. I'm not going to spend the time to work out the math, but I don't think that any of the nuclear...

I think that the long-range detectability of our diffuse electromagnetic emissions is often overstated. A large array of radio telescopes (like the planned SKA) spaced on opposite sides of the planet for maximum resolution might be able to detect our television/radio signals at a distance of about 1...

Destroyers can do anything that a frigate can do, but if you have them doing tasks that don't require all that expensive extra capability, that's not cost effective even for a "rich" navy. The US Navy is buying a bunch of new frigates, because they just don't have enough ships to be everywhere that ...

True, they are. I was just wondering, since the cruisers get out of docks more often than destroyers, if the destroyers do make patrols solo. The cruisers don't get out of dock more often than destroyers; it's the destroyers and scouts that the Colonial Fleet most often uses for patrol. The twelve ...

But what about the difference between Destroyers and Frigates? Oh yeah, sorry. Destroyers tend to be larger and equipped primarily as fleet escorts, whereas a frigate is smaller and cheaper and designed primarily for solo patrol. I think that's more or less the distinction between destroyers and fr...

Demarquis wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 11, 2023 1:54 pm

... provided she can be gentle with her telekinesis.

She can't.

Alex's unit was sent on a diplomatic mission to establish contact with the alien factions and negotiate a deal, if they could. It's very difficult to do that if you're not willing to tell the parties even basic information about who you represent. If the primary goal was to keep Earth's location sec...

The Colonial Fleet was formed at a time when there was an undeclared war going on between entities in the Sol system and Aldea, and both sides had built armed starships that were interfering with interstellar trade routes. The America class was designed to completely outclass anything that either si...

Now I'm curious, and this is all totally trivial, but can non-Neridi tell the difference? What's the Neridi traffic controller in 119, 124, and 137? Having read Bujold's Vorkosigan series, I'm primed to wonder whether the earrings serve an identification and signalling function? Or maybe they're ju...

Yes, I was surprised to learn how different reptiles and fish are from mammals when it comes to sex determination -- many don't use X and Y chromosomes.

I found this to be a very interesting presentation both on sex determination mechanisms, and unusual gender roles in animals.

Is there any particular advantage that the Loroi would gain from capturing this Umiak ship intact? I'm assuming no, because the conflict is big enough and has been going on for long enough that each side should have working examples of all major enemy technology, just from scavenging after battles ...

This might go in a different thread, but what about sexual orientation and Identity? I am sure this could work in a way to get out some "frustration" among certain groups (Ancient Greeks, Arab, and Samurai practiced same sex relations amongst its people, espesialy amongst the warriors). I also know...

Since the Loroi have amplifiers that can increase the power of Teidars, do the Loroi have tech that can suppress sanzai or PK powers? As with the amplifiers, there are materials and shapes known to the Loroi that can dampen psionic abilities, but none (known) that can completely shut them down. The...

While Umiak crews won't hesitate to die in the line of duty, they're not eager to die or obsessed with death. What they are obsessed with is efficiency. Boarding actions are fairly rare, so the loss rate of having ships taken by enemy boarders is probably much less than the loss rate would be from s...

Demarquis wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 08, 2023 8:39 pm

Question: Is the Warrior Culture thread supposed to be locked?

No, thanks for pointing it out.

You can still implement it even at the stage the draft pages on your Patreon are at ;) If something can go wrong, it will go wrong and a little extra havoc is always good :twisted: I think what the Umiak actually do makes more sense both logically and narratively. The Umiak don't have any way to kn...

I thought the statue of liberty is holding the bill of rights (which don't apply to Loroi, yet), and not a laurel wreath... The real statue is holding a tablet on which is inscribed "July IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4 1776). I substituted the laurel wreath that's held by the Statue of Poetry in Florence, w...

avatar576 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 04, 2023 11:30 pm

Already been on one emergency callout this morning thanks to some careless kids -- Don't need another.

On duty for the holiday? Be safe.

I'm not super happy with this, but I'm out of time... so I'll just post it here and say, Happy Birthday, America.

icekatze wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:43 pm

Do you use references for the backgrounds, or maybe a 3d model as a guideline?

Yes, I use a mixture of photos and 3D renders for reference.